On June 27, 2012, Prime Minister approved the National Action Programme on “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, Sustainable Management of Forests, Conservation of Forests and Enhancement of Forest Carbon Stocks” (hereafter as REDD+ Programme) in the period 2011-2020 under the Decision 799/QD-TTg.

The goal of the REDD+ Programme is to contribute to the successful implementation of the National Climate Change Strategy and the poverty reduction goals towards sustainable development. REDD+ Programme comprises the key tasks as follow:

1. Period 2011 - 2015

• Capacity building and institutional development on REDD+ activities;
• Conduct of forest and carbon investigation and data collection to establish Reference Emission Levels/Forestry Reference Levels (RELs/FRLs) for each period, and project RELs/FRLs for incoming years;
• Development and operation of Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system;
• Development of REDD+ Programme financial management mechanism;
• Implementation of pilot REDD+ projects;
• Strengthening cooperation and experience sharing with countries in the region on the implementation of REDD+; improvement of forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT);
• Review and documentation of lessons learnt of REDD+ implementation in pilot provinces and new international regulations.

2. Period 2015 – 2020

• Carrying on the improvement of programme coordination, management and operation mechanism; expanding the implementation of the programme in the whole country that meet international requirements and assistances;
• Carrying on the development and accomplishment of legal framework to support the implementation of REDD+;
• Carrying on awareness raising and capacity building on REDD+ implementation;
• Adjustment, supplement and accomplishment of RELs/FRLs at national level and local levels in pilot provinces;
• Fulfilment of REDD+ information system;
• Accomplishment of financial management mechanism and result-based payment policies for REDD+ at different levels;
• Completion of monitoring and claim addressing and feedback responding mechanisms during the implementation of REDD+;
• Continuation on strengthening cooperation and experience sharing with countries in the region on the implementation of REDD+ and improvement of forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT).

To deal with the tasks above, the Decision sets seven main solutions, including:

1. Accomplishment of a legal framework to enable the REDD+ implementation;
2. Accomplishment of institutional and human resource development;
3. Review and completion of land use planning and forest protection and development planning;
4. Review and completion of forest and forest land allocation and lending for organizations, households, private sector and communities according to the existing laws;
5. Conduct of forest investigation, forest change monitoring and forest checking for every year and five-year period;
6. Strengthening communication and awareness raising; mobilization the involvement of local people, communities and organizations in REDD+ planning, implementation and monitoring;
7. Enhancement of international cooperation to diversify financial resources.

In terms of the implementation, the Decision specifies the roles and responsibilities of relevant Ministries to implement REDD+ Programme. The Minister of MARD is assigned to establish a Vietnam REDD+ Steering Committee and stipulate the operational regulations of the Committee. The Minister is also granted authority to get agreement with donors to set up an Advisory Board to support the monitoring of REDD+ Programme implementation when necessary. Meanwhile, Vietnam REDD+ Office, established under the decision of the Minister of MARD, is a supporting part of the REDD+ Streering Committee.

This is the important Decision as it will contribute to the implementation of National Climate Change Strategy and expresses the goodwill of Vietnam, together with the international community, to protect the Earth Climate system. The Decision comes into effect since the date of signing (27/06/2012). Full content of the Decision 799/QD-TTg (in Vietnamese only) is uploaded on the Library of the website.